


Dragon of England

by AverageEpaulet



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Death Eaters, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Harry Potter Rewrite, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Masturbation, Not Underage, Pregnancy, Quidditch, Reunions, Set before book one, Sexual Tension, Sort Of, Tags Are Hard, Teacher - Teacher, Teacher-Student Relationship, Will somehow work the dyad into this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:14:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27225652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AverageEpaulet/pseuds/AverageEpaulet
Summary: Rey Niima was 25 when she saw him again.He had been equally as stupid, and not at all the adult Rey’d assumed people in their twenties to be - but that was something she’d realised only years later, having gotten to that age herself. He hadn’t been much less of a child back then than she had. Maybe it was the six years between them or the fact that at the time he’d already made a name for himself, that had made her think otherwise.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 48
Kudos: 102





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first work dipping into the Harry Potter fandom as well as venturing to the student teacher field. About the rating, this will probably be closer to a hard M than an E, but I'm playing it safe with that rating :) I'm a little nervous about posting this, but here goes :D

**1987**

Rey Niima was 25 when she saw him again. 

Somehow she’d imagined that time and distance would have done their trick and she’d be unaffected by the reunion. She’d taken the job knowing, or at least assuming he’d still be there. Where else would he be? If he was in Azkaban, like so many hoped, it would have been all over the papers. 

The minute she saw him sitting in the same seat behind the high table, between McGonagall and Hagrid, she was instantly taken back to her 7th year at Hogwarts, when she was eighteen and he was twenty-four. He had been equally as stupid, and not at all the adult Rey’d assumed people in their twenties to be - but that was something she’d realised only years later, having gotten to that age herself. He hadn’t been much less of a child back then than she had. Maybe it was the six years between them or the fact that at the time he’d already made a name for himself, that had made her think otherwise. 

  
  


**1980**

“Wow, see the tree at the high table”, Rose was leaning over the Hufflepuff table to whisper to Rey, even though there wasn’t really any need to be extra quiet. The hall was full and they weren’t anywhere near the high table to be overheard. No one would have paid her any mind if she’d just spoken normally. 

But yes, Rey did see what she meant. The new professor, sitting on the right of Hagrid, on the left of McGonagall. His head hung above everyone but Hagrid’s of course - he wasn’t tall enough to be mistaken for a half-giant, just a very, very tall man. 

“Guys, do you know who that is?” By some miracle Finn had overheard them from the Gryffindor table that was next to theirs. They’d chosen to sit so that they could at least be back to back, since they had to sit in their designated tables for the welcoming ceremony. “That’s Benjamin. Freaking. Solo.” 

Rey had no clue who Benjamin. Freaking. Solo. Was. What had surprised her though was the blatant disgust in Finn’s tone. While the name did sound distantly familiar, she had no idea why she ought to know him, or why Finn was so repulsed. Not a lot of great, nameworthy wizards were under the tender age of sixty, and the lad couldn’t have been over thirty. If he was - well then Rey wanted to ask him about his skin care routine. 

“Who is he and why should we care?” Rey asked, not wanting to wait for answers any longer than she had to. 

Finn leaned even closer, his voice as quiet as it got. 

“Benjamin Solo. The forgivable unforgivable curses Benjamin Solo. The poster boy of the dark curses Benjamin Solo.” Finn swallowed nervously, looking around himself to see if anyone was listening. “He should be in Azkaban.” 

The trio’s eyes glued to the almost awkwardly tall and broad man on the high table. He looked almost childishly young compared to the rest of the staff. He kept on playing with his cufflinks, correcting and fiddling with them until McGonagall swatted his fingers. They couldn’t hear what she said, but the words “stop that” were clear to be read on her lips. The man shrunk, if that was possible, and went to nurse his glass instead.

Not exactly the poster boy of the dark curses, as Finn had put it. 

“Why would someone like that be here? A professor no less.” Rose scoffed, not believing a word Finn had just said. He opened his mouth to say something, when headmaster Dumbledore stood up, and the Great hall quieted down. 

He walked to the front, did the usual speech of welcoming new and old students alike for a year of study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

“This year, I have the great pleasure of introducing our newest addition to the staff. He’s come all the way from the Colonies, Professor Benjamin Solo, our new defense against the dark arts teacher.” Dumbledore flashed a smile, gesturing his hand in the young man’s direction. 

He didn’t stand up, just nodded to the crowd, his face impassive, until McGonagall swatted his arm again, and he stood up for a few seconds, looking at everything and nothing at the same time. 

There were quiet applauds, and some murmuring among the student body. The fact was that the name rang a bell for most. 

“DEATH EATER” 

It was impossible to tell who among the hundreds of students had yelled, but it acted as the catalyst, and people were rapidly joining in, booing and screaming insults at him. 

Rey’s mouth dropped open in shock. His name was familiar, sure, but she could have never predicted the direct uprising from her fellow students. She watched around with wide eyes, before thinking to look at the man himself. He’d sat down, and was sipping from his glass of wine. He looked.. almost amused. Like he had expected something like this to happen and was enjoying every second of it. 

Dumbledore on the other hand was not amused in the slightest. 

“SILENCE!” his voice boomed through the Great Hall, making each and every mouth snap shut in one quick motion. You could almost hear the click of a hundred pairs of jaws locking simultaneously. Dumbledore’s glare raked the room, mouth tight under his long beard. 

“This sort of talk will not be tolerated. From anyone, student or staff. There’s no room for slander, here at Hogwarts.” 

He allowed his words to sink in before continuing. His shoulders relaxed, and his harsh expression was overtaken by a much more familiar, friendly smile. 

“Now”, he extended one hand to the students. “We feast.” 

  
  
  
  
  


**1987**

  
  


It dawned on Rey that she was in the same position, in her mid-twenties and there weren’t many in the wizarding community who hadn’t heard of Rey Niima, The Dragon of England. The England’s national quidditch team’s beater during the World cup of 1981 when they won, the captain of the Wimbourne Wasps the five years they won league cup in a row, as well as a sob story. 

In her last match, a preliminary game against the Ballycastle Bats, she’d taken a nasty spill that led to a broken spine and an artificial leg. She was no longer allowed to compete professionally - which was also why she was back at Hogwarts, taking over the flying instructors position. She’d taken the last year to recover from her injuries and learn how to walk again. Magic could replace her three shattered vertebra, but it couldn’t fix her nervous system, or the leg that had more or less been mangled off. 

Rey took her seat at the high table with her chin up and face neutral but at the same time friendly. She didn’t want to appear as if she had a stick up her bum from the very beginning - not unlike a certain professor seated on the opposite end of the table. 

He looked more or less the same, though maybe a bit more tired. His hair was longer than it had been seven years ago, now fully past his ears. His figure had filled out, and Rey knew it was all muscle, because even with his robes he looked like he could tear a tree from its roots.

Rey did not want to look in his direction, afraid of what the image might conjure up in her mind. Instead she took to nursing the glass of red wine that had been poured in front of her, withdrawing to a safe place in her mind where she kept for the rest of the welcoming ceremony, until the headmaster called her name. 

“And allow me to introduce you to our new flying instructor, though you probably already know her from her work in the quidditch field, professor Rey Niima.” 

Dumbledore’s wrinkly hand extended to her direction, and Rey pushed herself up by the edge of the table, flashing a smile to the students clapping their hands. 

“DRAGON!” 

Rey couldn’t tell from which table the yell came from, but it was followed by a few whistles and she laughed. She took the wand from the holster on her hip and swung her arms back and then forth in a way that was reminiscent of how she held her bat as a beater, casting a wordless spell that made a dragon formed of golden sparkles fly over the students and vanish to the night sky enchanted above them. People cheered, Rey knew how to please a crowd. 

She smiled, sitting back down. The dragon was something like her trademark. People had noticed her skills as a player even in the earlier games, but in her first final, between England and France, her sleeve had torn and revealed to the world the arm long dragon tattoo that moved on her skin according to her mood. She’d swung the winning goal in that game and thus the Dragon of England was born. 

Today she’d chosen a long sleeved robe to cover her arms, but it was still yellow and black, representing her team’s and former house’s colors. 

Dumbledore said a few more words and finally it was time to eat, and that was something Rey could safely say she’d missed the most about Hogwarts - the food was to die for. She stuffed her plate until she couldn’t possibly balance any more food on it. Rey might have been a fairly petite woman but she could eat like there was no tomorrow. 

She fell into an idle chat with professor Trelawney who sat to her left, when she asked if Rey’d met a green eyed man lately. She babbled on about how when she’d heard Rey would be returning as a teacher, she’d had a dream of a green eyed man. Rey couldn’t say that she had - not anyone that came to mind at least. 

Rey attempted to suggest that perhaps the professor’s dream hadn’t even been about her, the two seemed like such unrelated things and she agreed to a somewhat degree. 

“Still eating like a Hippogriff I see”, further into the night, Hagrid had moved closer and now his large palm pressed on Rey’s shoulder. She gave him a warm smile. 

“Hagrid”, she stood up and gave the half-giant a hefty hug. 

“It’s nice to see you on your feet, little scavenger. How’s your back?”

“Good as new”, Rey demonstrated by stretching a little, which was a mistake because it did make her wince, just a bit. She chuckled it off. “A bit achy in the evenings.” 

“A spill like that will do so. Come along, Minerva sent me to get you.” Hagrid walked her to the other end of the table, where McGonagall was already up on her feet, extending to take Rey’s hand in hers and pat it warmly. 

“Well Miss Niima, I never thought I’d see this day.” she said it with all good intentions. “Welcome back.” 

“Thank you, professor. It’s a pleasure.”

“Do call me Minerva from now on.” she huffed a little. Rey nodded, her eyes lingering down from McGonagall’s face to the table and to the empty seat there. 

McGonagall made a sound, something like a laugh. “He already left.” 

“Clearly. I mean- who?” 

The older woman laughed again. 

“Oh you should have seen his face when you walked out. His jaw nearly hit the table. I understand that you two were close back when you were a student?” 

  
  
  


**1980**

It was difficult to stay still. Rey squirmed, biting down on her hand to not cry out loud, while the other one pulled on the tendrils of black hair that turned to waves on the back of Ben Solo’s head.

Her every muscle was drawn tight like a rubberband waiting to snap. She looked at how her ankles hooked over his shoulders, how his head half disappeared under her grey skirt, pushed up on her thighs.

She came, harder than she had ever come in her life because this was also the first time anyone else had touched her like that.

His tongue didn’t immediately part with her, keeping a warm pressure until she got past all the waves and aftershocks and melted against the backrest of his chair.

Ben Solo lifted his head, his mouth and chin still glistening with her, and he wiped them on his sleeve. His ears were a striking shade of scarlet, a stark contrast to his pale cheeks. He never blushed on his face, but his ears gave him no such mercy.

He pulled up against her, to her neck where he pressed chaste kisses.

"Did you like that, sweetheart?" His voice was soft, almost to the point of fragile. He sounded so unsure of himself, waiting for any word of encouragement or some acknowledgment that he’d not messed up. 

Rey's breathing started to settle, and she grabbed his jaw, pulling him to a tender kiss. She could still taste herself on his lips and tongue, but tried not to let it bother her. He kissed her back, and Rey could feel those lush lips of his turn to a wide spread grin.

She did not regret it. Not one bit. 

  
  
  


**1987**

Rey held back a swallow, replacing it with a friendly smile and a nod. 

“Yes, we were friends. Him being closer to my age than any of the other professors. But we sort of grew apart after I graduated.” 

Stopped all contact, actually. 

Rey tried not to show how sad that really made her. She’d known it was inevitable as much as he had. The expiration day of whatever it was that they’d had, something they hadn’t dared to name, as if that would make it all the more real. 

As if it hadn’t been real at all. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**1980**

  
  
  


It all started with detention. 

It was minutes until 5pm and Rey was rushing to the D.A.D.A classroom to not be late. 

Earlier that day she’d hit a bludger through professor Hux’s window and it had torn through his quarters. It had been an accident, but as if Hux believed that when he and Rey already had a minor grudge against each other. Rey, not exactly by accident, blew a cauldron in his face during her fourth year, after he heavily criticised her truth serum. 

“Miss Niima, you’d have better luck getting the truth out of someone by fluttering your eyelashes than with this potion, and that is no secret.” 

Rey might have been a Hufflepuff and as such, she tried to be as kind as she could, but she did not respond well to confrontation, which was why the next second, her cauldron blew up in Hux’s rat face. 

  
  
  
  


A minute until five, she knocked on the classroom door. She hadn’t been there since the O.W.L’s. She would have qualified for the N.E.W.T’s but did not want to continue studying D.A.D.A, as she had no plans to become an auror or anything along those lines. 

She slipped through a minimal crack she made on the door and stood there, expecting to see other students sitting with their heads against the tables, but the classroom was pointedly empty except for the new professor sitting at his desk, quill in hand, going through a pile of papers. 

Rey cleared her throat. “Hello? I’m here for detention? Professor Hux said I should report here?” 

The young professor lifted his head, looking across the classroom to her, his face impassive and maybe a little bored. 

“Miss Niima, I assume?” His voice was low but velvety smooth. 

“Yes, sir.” she closed the door and ventured further into the classroom. It looked more or less the same as she remembered, with a few new knick-knacks laying about and a row of empty, ceiling high bookshelves on the far right wall. 

“Good, here’s how this is going to work.” he put his quill down and leaned forward in his chair, twining his fingers over the table. Still showing no sign that he gave a rats ass. 

“As you probably know, my name is professor Solo. Professor Hux hands out detention slips like candy and he has enough students sitting with him as it is, which is why he assigned your detention over to me.”

Rey wanted to smirk. She suspected that the real reason was that Hux did not want to look at her face any more than he had to - not that Rey complained. The feeling was mutual.

“So, Miss Niima, for the next month you’ll be spending two hours every weekday from five to seven right here, doing whatever menial task I come up with.” professor Solo straightened his spine. 

“Alright, well, what do I do today?” 

His head twisted to the empty bookshelves, and the piles upon piles of stacked books on the floor next to them. There must have been hundreds of novels there. 

“I thought you could organize that.” Solo shifted so his elbows landed back on his desk. “Alphabetically by the author’s last name, and no wands, please.” and just like that his focus fell back to the papers he had on hand, clearly assuming that Rey knew how to get started by herself. 

Rey walked to the nearest pile, eyeing it with a sense of wariness. She poked one pile with her foot, magical books could be quite unpredictable. 

“Nothing in there should bite your fingers.” 

Rey turned to face his desk, and the professor was once again looking at her, this time with a little bit of ease to his face. He seemed to be taken back by the bright smile that Rey got on her face after hearing that particular detail. She dove to the pile, grappling the books and flipping through them like an excited puppy. 

Rey loved literature. Back when she still hadn’t gotten her letter and was living in the muggle foster system, she loved reading. She especially loved fairy tales, stories about magic and far away kingdoms and heroes. It had been the best day of her life when an owl came with her Hogwarts letter. She’d get to live out her dream. 

“What if I don’t finish today?” Rey suddenly lifted her face from the book she was currently holding. 

Solo shrugged. “You’ll continue tomorrow.” he sat tightly behind his desk. “But trust me, you don’t want to spend four weeks organizing my book collection. You’ll bore yourself to death.” his eyes glinted a little in a smirk, and Rey thought that she quite liked that expression. 

School had been going on for a month, and what Rey’d heard from Finn and Rose who’d both advanced to N.E.W.T.’s, was that he was rather intimidating in the classroom. Intense, to say the least, as well as demanding. 

Everyone felt the need to walk on eggshells around him - Rey’d heard the rumors. Piss him off and he might just snap. 

“This is your personal collection, sir?” Rey took in what she was actually seeing, noting multiple muggle books as well, in fact the majority of them were non-magical. The book she was currently holding was something she’d never even heard of called Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It looked fairly new. 

“Yes, I just moved to Britain, I had to bring my stuff over but I haven’t really had the time to sort it all out.” 

“Why are all of these muggle books?”

“Father was a no-maj.” his tone was sort of tense, but not like he was uncomfortable saying so. 

Rey snorted, making his brow tic slightly. 

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re so American..” she chuckled a little to herself, placing the book down on the pile. Solo had made no comment, but when she looked over his brows were no longer in a frown, and he almost looked amused - not the same sort of cocky smirk he’d had in the Great Hall, but something softer. 

“As if everything that comes out of your mouth doesn’t sound ridiculous to me.” 

Rey couldn’t believe her ears. He actually had a sense of humor, or something closely resembling that. 

“Yes, but you’re here now, so your accent is outnumbered, sir.” 

The professor scoffed a little. He glanced at Rey, shaking his head and got up. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a navy blue sweater, with his hands in his front pockets. His stride was long but calm as he crossed the distance between them and took the nearest book from the pile. Rey felt her spine straighten up when he was closer, exuding authority, though he was not directing it at her. 

“You know what you’re forgetting, Miss Niima?” he went through another pile, and another, as if in search of something. 

“Sir?” 

He made a sound like making a discovery. He picked up a novel and stood right in front of Rey. He was almost a full feet taller than her, and he looked down at her with his brows hitched up. 

“This is detention. Stop having fun.” he dropped the book he’d been holding to Rey’s hands. 

_ With the Turks in Palestine _ by Alexander Aaronsohn. 

“Start with that.” 

He ventured back to his seat behind the desk, while Rey just followed him with her eyes, rendered speechless. 

  
  
  


Rey spent the next two days setting up the books, after which she was extremely pleased with how the wall high shelves ended up looking. It was quite satisfying to look at, the even rows of book spines spread out on multiple levels. 

“Nice job, Miss Niima.” professor Solo nodded from afar, his hands propped on his hips as he took in her work. Rey’d given a few attempts at small talk with the professor, suspecting that he might be equally bored as her, sitting in silence, but he’d always cut their conversations off short. 

“You missed one”, he nodded to a desk by the shelf that Rey’d used to climb on and get the books on the highest places. There was one medium sized novel there with hard covers, lying face down. 

“Actually..” Rey felt a little fidgety grabbing the book and presenting it to him. “I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be here.. the others are muggle made but this..” she wasn’t sure how to react to finding it among the others. 

_ The Forgivable Unforgivable Curses: The Cruciatus Curse _

By Benjamin Solo. 

Rey remembered why his name sounded so familiar, why Finn was so on the edge when he first mentioned him. 

“The Forgivable Unforgivable Curses Benjamin Solo.” Finn’s words from the welcoming ceremony echoed in Rey’s mind and she had no clue why it hadn’t clicked in her mind before she’d laid her eyes on the book itself. She’d just sort of dismissed the whole idea that he could be anything else but a teacher. Sure, she heard the rumors and whispers about him, but there were plenty of those going around about other teachers as well - Hux had been rumored to be a vampire for the past decade. Rey did not believe it, he was just a pale redhead. 

Benjamin Solo had become famous a few years ago when he’d published the first work in his three part series of studying the unforgivable curses, perfecting them to a level no one had ever seen. 

They were.. disturbing, unethical works, or so Rey’d been told. 

“You wrote this?” she offered, trying to hide the fact that her hand was shaking a little. 

“I did.” his expression didn’t shift in one direction or another.

Rey nodded, trying to keep her breathing steady. She didn’t know why she was so nervous - or she did. Because The Forgivable Unforgivable Curses trilogy was one of the most hated, debated, taboo pieces of magical literature of all time and the author had often been described as an unhinged, sick sadist who deserved to rot in Azkaban for all eternity. 

“Back in fifth year we were introduced to the three curses, we got a list of books to read up on the subject.” 

Solo’s eyebrows shot far up his forehead. “And mine was one of them?”

“Actually yours were specifically on the list of what not to touch with a three foot stick.” Rey laughed a little. That had been what the D.A.D.A. professor at the time had actually said. 

“Ah-” he nodded and Rey swore for a split second he’d grinned. “Now that I’ve heard before.” Solo took the piece from her, flipping through the pages for a second, before placing it back on the table. 

Rey didn’t know what she was doing. She felt like she was digging her own grave. 

“Our old professor called it the work of a murder crazed fanatic of the dark arts.” she didn’t know why she said that to his face, maybe to see if she could coax a reaction out of him, something to prove the statement. Rey half expected him to assign her more detention, but instead, he laughed - a full belly bark and he covered his mouth with his palm. Rey had time to see a glimpse of dimples on his speckled face. 

“That sounds about right.” he shook his head a little, still humming with laughter. “I admit they didn’t get the best reception. Actually I think most people refused to read them because of the subject alone.” he sounded like he was long past the point of being angry about it, and now he was just tired and amused of hearing about it. 

Rey propped herself on one of the desks, her arms curling over her chest. 

“By law you should be in Azkaban.” it wasn’t an accusation, rather than a statement. The use of the dark curses was forbidden by law - and if what people said about the man in front of her, he’d dealt them, consecutively. 

“I should, yes.” Solo nodded. “But laws are a bit different back in the U.S. I had a research permit from the MACUSA. People didn’t really care about that when the books were published.” 

“So are you a dark wizard?” 

His lips drew to a tight line, head tipping a little to the side. It made him look like a boy, not so much a man. 

“You mean, am I a death eater?” 

Rey shrugged. 

“I’m not. I don’t have a dark mark nor am I loyal to you-know-who.” he leaned his back against a desk, mirroring Rey’s pose of having his arms crossed over his chest. “Frankly I think anyone who calls me that doesn't actually know what a death eater is.” 

“Should I read the books?” 

“I think everyone should read them, but I can’t make them, now can I?” his lips tipped to a mild, lopsided grin. 

“Is it going to prove you a murder crazed fanatic?” 

“Hardly.” 

“Will it turn me into one?” 

“I wouldn’t give myself that much credit.” he laughed again, genuinely. “But if you do read them, feel free to come talk to me about it. I’d like to hear your thoughts on it, Miss Niima.” 

“Why?” Rey couldn’t help but scoff. Her opinion was hardly something worth considering when it came to any powerful magic, let alone the unforgivable curses of all things. 

“Because I’ve been working here for a little over a month now, and you’re the first student who’s dared to approach me on the subject. Everyone else scurries around me like I’m going to use the killing curse on them if they forget to say sir.” his eyes wandered to the book resting on the left of Rey. “You can keep that. I have countless copies, and you were right, it shouldn’t have been in there anyway.” 

The clock hit seven in the evening. 

“Looks like your time is up for today. You’re dismissed.” Solo said, moving from where he was standing behind his desk. He grabbed a few papers, tucked under his arm and gestured to the door. 

“Miss Niima, sitting overtime won’t lessen your detention days.” 

Rey stirred, like waking from a trance. She nodded, quickly gathering up her things and half striding out the door. She’d tucked the copy of his work under her cardigan, as it was technically still a book from the forbidden section of the library. Rey’d seen them there. Too dangerous to be for everyone to read. 

She’d made it halfway to the Hufflepuff common room, when she realised that the professor hadn’t actually answered her question. Are you a dark wizard? He’d evaded it, by answering a question of his own. 

Rey felt unnerved when she laid down in her bed that night, slipping the book inside her pillowcase to hide it from sight. 

  
  
  
  


**1987**

  
  


Rey flicked her wand, and her bags began to unload in the quarters that were now her new living space. 

Only one large trunk remained unopened, and she changed into a more comfortable outfit of wool socks and a large red sweater that could have been a dress, cutting off at half way down her thigh, and some leggings before settling on the floor next to the dark brown trunk. 

She opened it, and smiled at the entire extent of her book collection. She pushed the trunk by the wall, stacking the books on the shelves in a random order, not really giving any thought to size or alphabetical order in which she placed them. 

There were only three books that she hesitated on. 

The Imperius Curse. The Cruciatus Curse. The Killing Curse. 

They were the most worn out books she owned, the pages all fiddled with and turned on dog ears, sticky notes peeking from between pages. She did not put them on the shelf, just left them on the bottom of the trunk and shut the locks as she pushed it under her bed, out of sight out of mind. 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Rose play Quidditch and it goes as well as you'd expect.

**1980**

  
  
  
  


With Saturday ahead and the first week of detention past, Rey was absolutely exhausted. Not to mention - she was angry, because she was missing Quidditch practice, and she had to make up for it on her weekends now. Their first game against Ravenclaw was coming up in just a short month and Rey’d missed every session the whole week, and would miss them leading up to the game as well. 

“Oh come on, like you need that much training.” Rose scoffed, strapping on her protective gear. Rey’d dragged her up at sunrise to the edge of the castle to do practice batting. Rose was their keeper, so she really didn’t mind the extra workout, but she wasn’t someone who enjoyed early mornings when the other option was to stay in bed and sleep until noon. 

“Very funny Rose.” Rey snapped on her goggles, pulling the headband tighter. “We shouldn’t underestimate Ravenclaw. I hear they have a new chaser, supposedly they’re really fast. I haven’t played in a game since last spring, so I need to be ready.” 

“I’m just saying, your batting arm is pretty sharp.” Rose hopped on her broom, hovering a few feet off the ground. 

“Rose, come on. Plus I need the distraction, I’ve been dusting the shelves in the D.A.D.A classroom for days now and professor sourpuss keeps finding spots I’ve missed.” 

Rose snorted and flew higher. Rey bounced a quaffle in one hand, holding the beater’s bat in the other. 

“Take this, I’ll release a bludger and try to knock that out of your hand.” Rey tossed the largest ball in the air, and Rose snatched it easily. Rey kept spinning her arm, warming up her shoulder muscles. 

“Speaking of professor Solo, anything interesting?” Rose’s tone was a bit too suggestive for Rey’s immediate taste. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well..” Rose shrugged, and Rey immediately turned, as if to work on the box containing the bludgers, but really it was to hide the blush on her cheeks. 

“Please. He’s a grump.” a grump who shared her love of books and had a sort of cute boyish look to him when he dropped the nasty scowl that made him appear much older than his actual age. Rey couldn’t tell Rose any of that, because she’d just make fun of her, saying it was no wonder Rey never complained after she got back from detention. 

She undid the strap holding down one of the three bludgers, and the enchanted ball swung into the air. Rey climbed on her Comet, following Rose way up into the air. 

“Ready?” Rey circled the small area they were flying on. They couldn’t use the Quidditch field, but the spot a little off the courtyard they were on now should work just fine - it wasn’t the first or the last time Rey and Rose had used it for last minute practice. 

“Yep”, Rose adjusted her pilot goggles a little before leaning forward on her broomstick and dashing to an upward climb. 

Rey flew steadily for a moment longer, carefully watching Rose’s trajectory, minding where the bludger was currently flying and when she had calculated where to hit, she sped up to the vicious ball and swung her bat. 

The bludger howled when it flew through the air and smashed into the back of Rose’s broom, making her do a 180 spin, and continuing to fly like nothing had happened. 

Rey flew faster around them, sharp eyes following exactly where the bludger was. She needed to be more creative if she planned to knock Rose off her broom. 

Rey followed right behind Rose, waiting for the opportune moment, the other witch flying zigzag to throw her off. 

Rey could hear the bludger, knew it was coming from behind them, a few feet lower. Rose tipped her broom to a fast climb again. Rey stopped and swung, but instead of a sideways hit like with a baseball bat, she dropped the tip of the bat down and swung from from below, making it so that the bludger flew directly up, like she had scooped it from the forward movement, and it caught up with Rose, plunging through the space between her arm and side, tearing the quaffle with it. 

“YES, THAT WORKED!” Rey threw both arms in the air, and Rose flew slowly back down, her mouth parted to a wide grin. 

“What was that? Shit, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hit like that!” she was equally as happy as Rey, who was absolutely beaming. 

“Something I developed during the summer. It needs optimal conditions, but I can’t believe it actually worked!” Rey was still kicking and tossing her arms up. “Now if I can get a shot like that in the game.. scouts would be all over it..” 

“Scouts?” Rose’s head tipped to the side a little. “Do you plan to go pro?” 

Rey’s cheering quieted down, her one free hand coming to hold her broom with a shy nod. 

“You don’t think that’s crazy, do you..?” she hadn’t actually told anyone what her plans for the future were. She felt like wanting to be a professional Quidditch player sounded like something a six year-old would say. 

“Rey are you kidding!? You’re the best player I know! Of course you should go pro!” It was a relief to see Rose so excited. She was hardly sitting still on her broom. 

A smile bloomed on Rey’s face and she felt a little more confident with her intentions. She was hoping to get scouted, but if that failed, try-outs would start in the spring. 

“Which team though?” Rose started to circle around, eyes wandering around, looking for the quaffle that the bludger had tossed who knew where. 

“I don’t really care, I just want to play.” Rey shrugged, tipping her head over. She could hear the bludger approaching once again. She gave the ball a gentle knock to spin it off course before flying around in a circle again. “Could we practice that play again? Same positioning?” 

Rose nodded, now hugging the quaffle to her chest. Rey had no idea when she’d already picked it up, but it was good that she had. 

They trained for another hour, but not once did they manage to recreate the shot. It hit Rose’s broom three times, her arm five times, and just blatantly missed her completely around twelve times. 

The last time Rey got so frustrated she just swung the bludger as hard as she could. 

“Oh no”, somehow the sentence came out of both Rey’s and Rose’s mouth at the exact same moment. 

The bludger whirled like a cannon ball towards one of the towers, missing it by inches. Rey sighed with relief. She couldn’t have handled another case like with Hux’s room. This was why they weren’t technically supposed to train outside the Quidditch field, but who was going to stop them. 

“Rey it’s coming back!” Rose pointed at the dot in the sky. 

“Shit, shit, shit…” Rey bent over her broomstick flying as fast as she could. The trajectory with which the ball was returning indicated that this time it would definitely hit the tower, and with her luck, a window. 

Rey put her hand in a batting position, but realised quickly that if she hit a bludger coming at that speed, with her current speed, it would break her arm. So instead, she dropped the bat and braced for impact. 

Rey’d taken a bludger to the gut before, but each time it felt just as bad. All air from her lungs spilled out with a dose of whatever she’d had for breakfast, and she spun backwards off her broom. Usually she would have hit the ground, but this time, she flipped around herself two whole rounds before her feet crashed through a tower window and Rey tumbled to the floor to a puddle of glass shards, the back of her head taking most of the fall. 

The world spun in her eyes when she laid there, staring at the ceiling, still clutching the bludger to her stomach. 

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” 

Rey’d not even registered the fact that yes, she was in someone’s room before the yell broke through the air. 

Rey could feel that some ribs had broken, and she could taste stomach acid in her mouth. That was what resulted in her hurling again, spitting foam along with the rest of her breakfast porridge to the hardwood floor. 

She lifted her head, but the world was still doing cartwheels. 

“Miss Niima!? What the- what the actual fuck are you doing?” The world might have been spinning, but Rey knew that voice belonged to professor Solo. 

Rey’s eyes focused enough to see the man pull on a pair of pyjama pants over his briefs while he stumbled out of bed. The bludger slipped from her hold, and Rey was about to jump after it despite her condition, but was too slow. The professor held out one hand, and the bludger snapped to his palm in a wordless summoning spell. He looked between it and Rey, quiet in a way that wasn’t a good indication. It felt like storm clouds gathering. Then it faded, and he froze the bludger so it wouldn’t jump around, before kneeling down on Rey’s level. 

“Are you okay?” 

Rey wasn’t. She really wasn’t, and she would have told him, if his chest wasn’t bare right in front of her face and she wasn’t having a concussion. 

So, instead she said the first thing that came to her frankly hazy mind: “Nice pecs.”

And with that, she passed out. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


When Rey woke up, she was in the hospital wing. She felt like she’d been tossed through a meat grinder, but at least her ribs no longer felt broken. She attempted to sit up, but the world tipped on its side and her head collapsed back to the pillow. 

“Oh don’t get up dear child. You have a concussion.” Madame Kanata, the school nurse rushed to her bedside, pressing a wet cloth to her forehead. “Do you remember your name?” 

“I’m Rey Niima.” she knew it was customary to ask simple questions after someone had a concussion. 

“And what house are you in?” 

“Hufflepuff.” Rey didn’t feel fuzzy so much as she felt completely humiliated and achy.

“What happened after I passed out?” Rey asked. Her throat felt dry. Madame Kanata offered her a glass of pumpkin juice, shaking her head. 

“Miss Tico came running, saying you got hit with a bludger and crashed through a window. Professor Solo was the one who carried you here.” 

“He carried me?” Rey could feel a wave of heat on her face. Talk about the rumors - people had undoubtedly seen him carry her unconscious body through the castle. Rey’d never live it down. 

“Yes, you’ve been out of it for a few hours. It’s still Saturday. What were you doing flying so early in the morning?” Madame Kanata placed the empty glass back on the table next to her. The small elderly witch corrected her large glasses that made her eyes look double the size. 

“I’m missing Quidditch practice because of detention.. wait, was I assigned more?” 

“You’re going to have to ask professor Solo. He’s the one whose room you crashed, not mine.” Madame Kanata shook her head, getting up. “But for now, you should rest. I’ll be coming back in a moment.” 

The nurse left Rey alone with her thoughts. She couldn’t remember much after going through the window, other than the fact that professor Solo had been sleeping, and Rey’d undoubtedly scared the crap out of him. She pointedly ignored the knowledge that he slept in his underwear, as well as the image of his pale, smooth chest hovering over her face when he’d knelt down. She did not know what she was supposed to do with that information, so maybe it was better to try and forget - as if she could. 

Madame Kanata returned a moment later with a plate of food and more juice. She explained that Rey’d broken two ribs from either side, but she’d already healed them. They’d probably be tender for a few days, and Rey wasn’t allowed to strain them for a week. No Quidditch practice. 

Rose and Finn came in the afternoon, and they played chess on her bed, but eventually they too had to leave. Rey was left alone to sleep there for one more night until she was released Sunday afternoon. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


Rey’d not been this nervous to go to detention the first time, as she was the following Monday. Her face was red before she could even open the door. She cracked it just a little, fully intending to step in if she hadn’t heard people talking. Rey didn’t particularly like eavesdropping, but she froze, unsure of if it was alright for her to just walk in. 

“-And don’t you think for a second that Dumbledore actually trusts-” the voice belonged to Hux. Rey’d heard him barking a thousand times before, but somehow this was the worst yet. It wasn’t the same way he yelled at students, it was actually threatening. 

“I know exactly why I’m here, Hux. Don’t  _ you  _ think for a second that I don’t.” Professor Solo did not lose in that area. He wasn’t yelling, but his voice had never sounded so icy. 

“You’re a monster, Solo. Don’t forget it, just because some bimbo brat is shining a smile in your direction-” Hux’s voice cut off abruptly. The classroom door flung open with such speed that Rey had to jump backwards. Hux was hanging to the doorknob, his nostrils flaring with rage. 

“Miss Niima, I don’t take kindly to snooping.” 

“I wasn’t snooping, I just wasn’t sure if I could come in with your.. conversation still going on.” Rey swallowed, before lifting her chin in a manner that was no less proud. She wasn’t scared of Hux, she refused to be. 

“And why exactly are you waiting around here anyway?” 

“Detention, sir. If you already forgot.” Rey scoffed, her arms crossing over her chest. Hux puffed a little, letting her pass into the classroom. 

“Solo”, he nodded before leaving the room. Rey could nearly feel the thunderstorm forming between the two professors. 

She walked further into the room after Hux slammed the door shut. Solo was leaning against the edge of his table, clearly annoyed, his jaw clenching and brows turned to a frown. 

“Um.. good evening professor.” Rey wasn’t really sure what she was supposed to do. She swayed from her tiptoes to her heels, eyes raking the room. “Should I- should I continue dusting the shelves?” 

“No.” his answer was so sharp it made Rey flinch. He noticed and shook his head. “No..” he repeated, this time softer. “I haven’t had the time to come up with anything you could do today, Niima. Given your injury I wouldn’t want to make you do anything too taxing..” he spoke, but it was absent, like the words were coming out but he wasn’t aware of them. 

“Professor”, Rey stopped, propping herself on the edge of one of the tables. “About Saturday, I’m really sorry.” 

“That’s okay.” 

“Did I break anything?” Rey didn’t have a lot of money, but she would repay any damage she might have caused. She hadn’t, in the case of Hux’s room, but this felt different. The both cases were accidents, but Rey never once felt the urge to do anything but laugh after destroying Hux’s quarters with a bludger. Besides the damage done in the potions master’s room was much too great for Rey to pay for it. 

“Aside from the window and my privacy? No.” 

Rey swallowed, the image of him half naked refused to leave her mind. She realised that she’d actually never seen a guy so close up. Sure she knew what guys looked like naked, she wasn’t that innocent, but it was a matter of distance. 

“Did you.. assign me more detention?” 

He huffed out a laugh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “And why would I have done that?” 

“Well just.. I thought you might, I crashed into your room while you were sleeping- I assumed you’d be mad.” Rey twisted her fingers, eyes glued to how the professor paced around his desk. He looked more on the edge than usually. 

“I’m not mad, Niima. It was an accident.” he raked a hand through his hair and took in a deep breath. 

A few seconds of silence passed between them. Rey bit her lips together. “What were you talking about Hux that made you so upset?” 

“Nothing that concerns you.” he finally settled behind his desk, leaning an elbow on the table, his forehead pressed against his palm. “Go grab a book.” 

Rey dropped on her feet. “Why?” 

“That’s your task today. Just.. read. And be quiet, I have a headache.” he sighed, like he was exhausted. Rey returned with a small novel and took a seat at a nearby desk. 

“What did you pick?” 

Rey’s head twisted up. The professor was still tense, but his expression wasn’t quite as angry as it was a second ago. He was looking at her now instead of the mahogany surface of his desk. 

“Um.. Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, I saw it the first time-” 

“It’s good.” he said without hesitation. “You’re a muggle born, yes?” 

“Yes..” Rey didn’t know why she suddenly felt self-conscious about it. She’d never been directly discriminated against because of it, but being called out as a muggle born wasn’t fun either - even if there was nothing wrong with being one. 

“I think you’ll be able to relate to it. New in a strange world.” the little twist on his lips looked genuine. Rey mirrored it back, before dropping her eyes when the silence between them started to feel too pressing. She turned the book to the first page. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot????? In my fic????? I was shocked too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turning up the heat

**1980**

  
  
  


The next Tuesday when Rey entered the D.A.D.A classroom, professor Solo was not there, but instead, there was a huge wardrobe, one which Rey recognised well. 

She closed the door behind her and walked further into the room, leaving her bag and cardigan on the edge of a desk. She kept eyeing the mahogany closet, the way it began to rattle when she made a sound. 

They’d faced a boggart in their third year, everyone had had to do it. It was supposed to be a fun experience for the whole class, but for Rey it had been something completely different. 

Rey hadn’t known what her boggart would be, or rather she hadn’t really thought about it. Her friends had fears, the likes of spiders, snakes and clowns, and Rey had expected hers to be something like that too - how wrong had she been. 

The moment she got in front of the wardrobe however, she’d realised what it would be even before anything stepped out of the looming darkness of the closet. 

Rey didn’t have time to dwell on her memories, when the classroom door opened and shut behind her. 

“Oh you’re here already.” 

Rey’s head twisted back. Professor Solo was out of his robes again, in a black knitted sweater and dark blue jeans. Rey knew he taught in his dress robes, because she’d seen him walk the halls like that, but he always changed out of them right after lessons. Rey suspected that it was the muggle part of him that didn’t want to wear robes, she had the same issue. She could appreciate the wizarding fashion, but she just felt like a child dressing up if she wore a pointy hat or robes. 

“You’re the one who’s late, professor.” she smirked. 

The professor looked at her through squinted eyes, and Rey wasn’t quite sure if she’d get scolded or not. She didn’t, the young professor simply walking to the front of the class huffing a little on his way there. 

“You’re getting too comfortable, Miss Niima.” he tucked one hand in his pocket. 

“I’m comfortable in most places, sir. That happens when you know things could be worse.” 

“I agree.” he glanced over, the corner of his lips twitching to a lopsided grin. 

Rey’s eyes turned to the wardrobe, when it rattled again, like it was going to fall over with whatever was inside it. 

“Ever faced a boggart, Miss Niima?” the professor crossed back from the front of the class to stand next to the wardrobe. 

Rey swallowed, nodding her head. 

“In third grade. It was mandatory..” she felt a knot forming in her stomach. The professor looked at her, not saying anything for a moment, like he could sense how uncomfortable she was. 

“Do you want to have a go?” 

“Do I have to?” 

Another pause. He was really looking at her now, like he was trying to see inside her head. Rey could understand why, most students were excited to face a boggart. 

“No, not really. However you’re making me infinitely curious as to why you wouldn’t. I’m assuming yours isn’t spiders.” he leaned to the side of the closet, arms crossing over his chest. It was hard to describe the expression he was sporting, if Rey didn’t know better she’d said he looked a bit worried. 

“I can’t explain it.” she shook her head, thinking back on her third year when the professor at the time had called her name and she’d stepped forward. 

For a breath, nothing had emerged from the closet. Then something did come out, something Rey’d never seen in real life, but she knew in her heart. It was a man, or at least she assumed so. A man with glowing, poison green eyes. She couldn’t see his face under the black hood, but the green eyes kept staring at her, and it had crawled out of the cage like an animal on all fours, covered by a hooded cloak. It called her name, in a hissy, deep voice and just as she thought it would attack her, it collapsed. Dead, on the ground at her feet. 

She’d been having the same nightmare over and over her whole life. She hadn’t seen the dream for a while, so she’d let it slip her mind, but there it was, for the whole classroom of her peers to see and she didn’t know why, but she was terrified to the bone. There was nothing she could do to make what she was seeing into something funny - hell, she didn’t understand what she was seeing. She’d stood there frozen until the professor had pushed someone else to take her place. 

“My spells won’t work on it.” Rey just said, not looking at the professor. “I don’t see the point.” 

Professor Solo looked even more curious, puzzled even. 

“Miss Niima, it’s not entirely uncommon for one’s boggart to be something.. something abstract. Something more difficult to make funny, but as a competent wizard you should still be able to battle a boggart nevertheless. The riddikulus spell is just one way.” 

Rey’d never really thought about it that way. She lifted her face and the professor was smiling a little, brows slightly crunched to a sympathetic expression. 

“A boggart will gain weaknesses every time it transforms. So to say, if your boggart is something you can banish with another spell, it should still work just as well.” he provided, pacing a little as he was getting into his professor mode. Rey’d never been in his classroom, so she had no real idea of what he was like when he was actually teaching and not just supervising. 

“Of course I’d never condone it from a student, but speaking from.. personal experience, there aren’t too many creatures the killing curse won’t take down. Boggarts technically can’t die but it won’t tickle either. Maybe dementors are unkillable but you have your patronus for those..” he said, almost like a side note, but Rey could see him eyeball her, scoping out a reaction. 

Frankly, she had none. Naturally she knew you could kill a boggart like any other creature, but she’d never thought of using it. 

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be turning me into a murder-crazed fanatic.” 

Professor Solo blinked, before his head tipped back and he laughed. Rey took note of the deep smile lines on his cheeks and the slightly crooked teeth that he covered up with his palm. 

“You got me there.” he hummed, moving to the side. “But I still think you should practice. I don’t have any chores for you, but some healthy practice never hurt anyone.” 

“It has hurt quite many people, actually.” Rey got reluctantly up from where she was perched. She reached down to her knee sock, pulling her wand out of it. She noted the professor’s eyebrows hitching up on his forehead a little, and then immediately looking away. 

“Whenever you’re ready. And take it easy, if it doesn’t work on the first try, it’s okay.” 

Rey’s heart was already drumming like a rabbit. She stood several feet away from the wardrobe, her chest heaving as she pointed her wand to the closet and wordlessly opened the lock. The door creaked open, and she felt her hand begin to shake. 

She’d not had the nightmare as much lately. Sometimes it took months for it to appear, and other times she saw it several times a week. It had been three months since the last time. Somehow Rey already knew she’d be seeing it tonight. 

The wardrobe stood dark, until the creature fell out, just like it had last time. Dropping to the floor on all fours. 

“ _ Rey. _ . “ it hissed, low and struggling like it had something straining in its throat. 

Rey made a sound, like a held back peep, her feet automatically moving her back half a step. 

The creature lifted its head, but she couldn’t see a face. Just a shadow with two green glowing dots, like eyes on the top half of the head. It crawled, and with each step if called her name. Rey’d not noticed it the first time, but it left a trail of blood behind it, the long cape dragging on the floor. 

Rey swallowed, feeling light headed, all heat escaping her feet and fingers as she kept her wand pointed to the creature. 

“Riddikulus”, she said the spell, knowing fully well nothing would happen. She was starting to get cornered, backing down with each step the boggart took closer, a raspy voice calling her name. Rey felt tears blooming behind her eyes, unable to understand why. 

“Riddik-” the spell caught in her throat, her wand clattered to the floor the same time the creature collapsed dead at her feet. She pressed her face to her palms, weeping now. She heard movement, footsteps close by and she could tell by the stride that it was professor Solo. The wardrobe rattled, and the next moment she felt a palm on her shoulder. 

“I’m sorry I made you do that..” he murmured and Rey dared to look up. The professor was across from her, his already pale face white as a sheet and that time she definitely wasn’t imagining things when she felt his hand tremble where it pressed to her shoulder. 

“I don’t know what that is, but I keep seeing it and I just-” Rey muttered, hardly audible. “I don’t understand.. I don’t even know what I’m afraid of..” 

“Shh…” the palm that was pressed to her shoulder stroked up and down her arm, firm and soothing. 

“I’m sorry- I’m so sorry for crying like this-” Rey weeped, wiping her cheeks as fast as she could. “It’s not your job to deal with this.”

“No”, Professor Solo’s voice was quiet, like a whisper and so deep Rey’s eyes darted to his. His lips were pursed tightly together, warm brown eyes you could drown in raking over her features. “But I want to.” 

Rey sucked in a sharp breath, swallowing down the lump forming in her throat as she stepped closer until her head met with his chest, burying against the soft wool of his sweater. She felt the professor’s hand on her upper back, holding firmly yet not in a forceful way. It was comfortable, like she’d found a place just for her. 

Of course, it wasn’t and he was just being nice, but for the moment Rey let herself sink to the feelings of comfort and security of being held by him. 

“I’ve had that dream as long as I can remember.. “ she said, after a moment, pulling back. She didn’t look at the professor, but could feel his eyes still locked on her face. “Even before.. Before getting my letter.” 

“Miss Niima..” 

“I don’t want to talk about it..” she shook her head, stepping out of his reach. He didn’t follow, standing still and waiting. 

“You’re free to go for today.” 

Rey spun her head around. The professor had his hands in his pockets, head hanging a little. He was still as pale as a ghost. 

“Really?” 

“I feel guilty for making you upset, so yes. Go rest.” 

“Professor-” 

“Miss Niima I suggest you go before I change my mind.” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. Rey nodded slowly as she went for her belongings. She was still hesitating, feeling an odd pressure in the air. It was different from a moment ago, when for a split second everything had felt right. Now it was tense, uncomfortable like something was on the verge of breaking. 

“Thank you, sir.” Rey managed before slipping out of the room, nearly running away once the door closed. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


Everyone else in her dorm was puffing steadily in their slumber. Rey couldn’t fall asleep, her body on the edge, heart beating heavily in her chest well into the night. 

When sleep eventually came, around three in the morning, it was restless and filled with images she knew would come to her. 

She was standing in an empty, grey room. It was like a void, with no clear visual as to where the space began and where it ended. The grey went on above her head indefinitely, as if she really was standing on nothing. 

In front of her was a closet, the doors open. 

She knew it was coming, the creature. It dropped, and crawled. 

“ _ Rey… _ ” 

The raspy voice echoed in the void, bouncing around her head in an endless repeat. 

The creature crawled, leaving a dark trail behind it. The green eyes were glued to her, and it was difficult to look elsewhere. She felt the longer she watched, the deeper she fell to the green pits of nothing. 

“ _ Rey” _ , the voice was desperate, and the creature extended a bloodied hand, covered by a black leather glove to her. Something it had never done. 

Rey whimpered, her knees shaking under her. She felt the need to run, but her feet were stuck to the ground. Forced to face the creature crawling to her like a monster, calling her name so heartbreakingly. 

It got close enough to touch. To grab her ankle. 

Rey’s whole body shook that time, like she’d been electrocuted. The creature was at her feet, looking up, still no face to be seen. Just two green eyes under a cloak. 

“What do you want?” Rey stammered, her throat clenching as she forced the words out. 

“ _ Rey… _ ” 

“WHAT DO YOU WANT!?” 

“Miss Niima?” 

Rey shook a second time. She was no longer in the grey void. She was in the D.A.D.A classroom, standing wide eyed in front of professor Solo. 

His head loomed over hers, black tendrils of hair framing his narrow face. Rey had to tilt her head up to fully face him, so close he was. 

“Miss Niima..” his voice was husky, warm eyes drilling hers, soft and calling.

Rey sucked in a breath, it smelled like sandalwood and fresh parchment and  _ home _ .

“Sir..” her lip pinched between her lips. 

“Shh…” his hand was on her arm, so warm and gentle, much gentler than Rey remembered ever being touched. 

“Professor you don’t have to do this..” her voice was gone, all resistance fading as his gaze dropped to her mouth and his full lips quirked a little. 

“No.” he leaned closer, his nose brushing her cheek, and she could feel his breath tickling her skin. “But I want to.” 

His mouth covered hers, and Rey’s legs buckled. 

  
  


She tossed awake, kicking her blanket to her feet. 

“Oh shit..” she was panting, a pulsing between her legs she absolutely couldn’t ignore. Rey pulled her drapes fully shut before throwing herself back on her bed, one hand going down to rub her aching clit without pretense. There was no teasing, no testing the water. She was burning up and she needed the release. 

When she closed her eyes, muffling her face against the pillow to not make a sound, she saw brown eyes, intense and calling. 

_ “But I want to.”  _

The whispered words repeated in her mind like a recording until she was kicking, shaking and slowly melting to her mattress with the hot waves of her climax. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so that happened :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reunion

**1987**

  
  
  
  


“ELBOWS IN AND TUCK YOUR KNEES!” 

Fifteen first years were wobbling on their broomsticks, barely even aloft. Rey hovered around the group on her own broom, modeling correct form. It was their second flying lesson, and now that everyone could summon a broom from the ground, they were practicing the basics of flying.

“Two hands on the broom, tight form and you won’t fall even if there were some bumps in the air.” As captain, Rey had gotten used to the slight barking on the field, but she toned it down to fit the group of 11-year-olds, some of which had never sat upon a broom before. 

“Alright, and down. Good job everyone.” She stepped off her broom, and the kids followed her example. 

“We’re going to walk to the quidditch field, and there we’ll take a few laps, nice and easy, not too high, not too fast, just a leisurely stroll around the field, alright?” Rey took her professional racing broom Nimbus 1700 in hand and propped it under her elbow. The team hadn’t dared to take it away from her after her accident, saying she could keep it, even though technically she wasn’t permitted to use it in racing conditions anymore. It didn’t matter, they’d have to pry that broom off her cold dead hands if they wanted it. 

She had flying goggles on her forehead and a black shoulder cape with a yellow lining, with windproof outerwear and knee length leather boots with lacing at the front. They had straps going across the shin, so that they’d still hold even if the lacing broke. They were dark brown, terribly worn and barely holding in piece, but she kept on wearing them because they were the most comfortable pair of boots she’d ever owned, and also because she didn’t dare to throw them away. 

She set a fast pace to the field, where she waited for all students to be hovering a few feet in the air before dropping her goggles down and climbing on her broom. 

“Nice and slow, if I catch you speeding or goofing around I’ll knock you off that broom myself.” She rose so that she could see the whole field, and the line of students now flying after each other, the ones who actually knew anything about flying at the head of the group, muggleborns wobbling behind. 

Rey remembered the first time she ever rode a broom. She’d fallen and hit her head before she had made it ten feet off the ground, and sworn that she’d never ever fly again. How the tables had turned on that one. It had taken her a while to catch up with everyone else, but by the time she was second year, she made the cut to be on the Hufflepuff quidditch team. 

“Mr. Wood, what did I say about those elbows!” Rey circled to the very front where one young wizard was flying before everyone else. His eyes were gleaming when he looked at her. 

“Sorry Professor Dragon. Won’t happen again Professor Dragon.”

“And please don’t call me that, it’s professor Niima or ma’am.” She wanted to roll her eyes but she was clearly in the presence of an avid fan. She didn’t want to be cruel. Besides the boy looked like he might swoon from just her calling his name. 

“Sorry Professor Niima..” 

“It’s okay. You fly good, Mr. Wood.” 

His whole expression brightened up like he’d been reborn. “I’m going to become a Quidditch player!” 

“I see”, Rey nodded “Work hard, train hard and never forget your goal. If you want to become a Quidditch player, you have to be a Quidditch player.” She didn’t know where this was all coming from, she was all about Quidditch, but Rey was never one about inspirational speeches and such. Her style of playing had always been something along the lines of, if you can’t out fly your enemy, then be the one that hits harder. 

Oliver Wood however looked like the universe had just opened up in front of his eyes. “YES MA’AM!” 

Rey smiled a little. Becoming a teacher might have been a good thing after all.

The rest of the lesson went well enough, and they returned to the courtyard on their brooms. 

“Alright everyone, get down and you’re free to go.” She hopped off her broom first, watching as students got down one by one. 

Rey turned her back for maybe three seconds, when there was a scream and something swooshed right behind her. 

Her head jerked to the direction of the sound, to see one kid spin around the courtyard like she was strapped to a bull. Rey knew the situation was serious, but she had to admire the little girl’s form. Elbows in, both hands on the broom and knees tucked together. She was strapped tightly to the haywire broom, but tossing uncontrollably. Kids were jumping out of the way, dodging the unpredictable turns. 

“Miss Davis!” Rey grabbed for her wand, but didn’t have time to pull it out when it was her turn to jump to the side to avoid getting hit. Miss Davis and her broom swooped high into the air, and then back down, flying all the way across the courtyard and back. The little girl was screaming, her eyes squeezed shut. She was definitely not the one flying. 

Rey stared with her eyes wide open. “Miss Davis, lean back! Lean back and make it stop!” she really didn’t wish to have to freeze the poor kid, it was better if she got the broom under control on her own - besides she was flying so high she’d get hurt falling if Rey froze her mid air. 

“Help!” The broom carried her through a pass to the inner courtyard, followed by the sound of other students screaming. 

Rey ran after her, but it was too late as the next thing she heard was a huge crash. 

When Rey got to the site, Miss Davis was on the ground with her broom and the someone she’d crashed into. 

“Shit..” Rey sprinted the rest of the way, but when she got to the two people on the ground, they were already getting up. Miss Davis was crying her eyes out, and the other one was holding his head. Rey’s stomach twisted when she recognised the black mop of hair. 

“What the fuck just happened..” Professor Solo looked like he’d been hit with a stick, which was technically true. Rey hesitated for just a beat before swallowing her pride and stepping forward. She squatted to Miss Davis’s level, taking her shoulders. 

“Does it hurt anywhere?” She examined her head for bruises, but there were none, at least not physical ones. 

“My ankle..” the little girl weeped, and when Rey panned her eyes down, her foot was in fact at an angle that it shouldn’t have been. 

“Oh dear.. um-” Rey fumbled, and without meaning to, she looked to Professor Solo who was to put it lightly,  _ staring _ . He was still sitting on the ground, a bewildered expression on his face, and he was looking right at her eyes wide, saying nothing but breathing heavily. Rey didn’t know why her face decided to turn red that exact moment, but it did, and she twisted her head so that she didn’t have to look at him. 

“Alright, let’s get you to Madame Kanata..” She murmured to Miss Davis, taking the little girl’s hand to help her up and support her so she didn’t have to put weight on the broken leg. Professor Solo got up from the ground the following second, wiping dirt off his black casual robes. 

“Miss Davis”, his tone was calm, but the little girl still flinched and hid behind Rey. 

“Don’t let him kill me..” She whispered, apparently to Rey, but it was loud enough for both teachers to hear. 

That time Rey did look at Professor Solo, and his brows twisted up in surprise to the kid’s reaction, then immediately sinking in sadness. Rey learned in that moment that his reputation hadn’t gotten any better in the past seven years, when even the first years were afraid of him. 

“Is this your personal broom or a school one?” He picked up the worn piece of wood from the ground and measured it in his hands. 

“A school one..” Miss Davis peeped her answer, still hiding her head behind Rey. 

“Good.. it’s malfunctioning. I’ll dispose of it. I’ve been telling Dumbledore the school needs newer models, these old ones are starting to act up..” It was unclear who he was talking to, maybe a little to himself. Either way he took the broom and stood still while Rey slowly limped away with Miss Davis. When they were almost inside Rey dared to peek over her shoulder and saw the professor snapping the broom against his knee. 

  
  


***

  
  


Rey sat with Miss Davis while Madame Kanata fixed her leg. 

“Have you ever flown before?” 

The little girl wiped the corner of her eye. “Just the times in class.. I’m not from a magic family..” she looked so ashamed to say it that Rey’s heart broke a little.

“Me neither”, she smiled some, and the girl looked up at her with something like relief in her eyes. “Your broom malfunctioned. That could have happened to anyone.” 

“I wish I hadn’t crashed into Professor Solo.. he’ll kill me for sure..” 

Rey and Madame Kanata exchanged quiet looks. 

“Why would you say something like that?” 

“Because that’s what everyone says. He’s a death eater. He’ll kill you if you piss him off or fail his exam.” 

Rey rolled her eyes. Of course. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. Professor Solo might look a little scary but he’s actually really fair. Trust me.” Rey’s lips quirked a little. “I hit a bludger through his window in my seventh year and he didn’t kill me. I’m sure he won’t kill you for tackling him with your broom.” 

Miss Davis snickered. She brushed her messy brown hair out of her face and grinned, sinking back to her pillow. She didn’t look nearly as scared anymore. 

“I hope you’re right.” Her voice was quiet but at least she no longer looked actually fearful for her life. 

Madame Kanata got her leg done while they’d been talking and now it was time for Miss Davis to get some rest. 

Rey sat by her bed for a minute longer, when the door to the sick bay opened and one familiar figure walked in. Professor Solo got around half way across the space when his eyes stopped on Rey - She knew it was her he was looking at and not Miss Davis, because their eyes met, and he froze in his footsteps. 

For a good ten seconds there was a silence. Rey straightened her spine, waiting. She believed the silence would coax out something. It did. The professor ducked his head and spun around on his heels, leaving, without addressing his business in the medical center. 

Rey was left looking at his back when he shut the door behind himself. 

  
  
  


***

  
  


**1980**

  
  
  


“I want to try it again.” 

“Try what?” Professor Solo’s brows scrunched up when Rey boldly marched to the D.A.D.A classroom the following day. 

She did not look upon his face, but a little to the side. She feared he might be able to tell something had happened. Not every day did she touch herself to the thoughts of a teacher of all people. 

“The boggart. I want to try battling it again.” That she was sure of. She wanted to be able to defeat it. To understand it. 

Professor Solo sighed deep that time. His elbows propped on the teacher’s desk and he rubbed his forehead. 

“Miss Niima- I don’t know if that’s a good idea. We’ve established that your spell didn’t work. I wouldn’t want to put you through that again and again.” 

“How am I supposed to defeat it in real life, if I ever come across one? Aren’t you a teacher? Teach me.” Rey marched on, her arms crossed over her chest in a challenge. She was determined that time. 

The professor let out a laugh, nodding. “Sure. I’m a teacher.” 

He got up, pulling his wand out of his sleeve. 

“You’re sure about this?” 

“Absolutely. I want to learn.” 

The professor nodded, and waved his wand, the wardrobe appearing in the middle of the classroom. Rey couldn’t help the way her heart started thumping at seeing it - how adrenaline instantly surged through her veins. Her mind might have been sure of this, but her body wanted to run. 

“Do you know any offensive spells?” 

“I know how to disarm and.. send people flying.” 

“We’ll start with that then.” He wrapped his sleeves up and walked to the middle of the classroom. “You need to force it back to the wardrobe. You don’t have to do anything else. Just push it back.” 

Rey nodded, taking off her cardigan. She knew she’d be getting too hot if she had it on. She told herself it was her imagination that professor Solo’s eyes might have lingered on her a moment when she started tucking on the buttons of the grey cardigan she had over her white shirt. 

She left it on a desk and gripped her wand as she stepped in front of the mahogany closet. 

Her hand was shaking, but her face was the picture of determination. 

Professor Solo stood to the side again, arms crossed. “Ready?” 

“Ready.” 

With a flick of his wand, the door opened in front of her. 

Rey’s breathing hitched for a second when the creature crawled out. She pointed her wand at it. 

“Push it back.” Professor Solo said, his voice tense. 

Rey nodded, unsure if it was for herself or to him. The tip of her wand quivered but she cast the spell, the boggart flipping from all fours to its back. Rey puffed, her eyes widening with surprise. Part of her hadn’t believed it would work. 

“ _ Rey-”  _ the creature wailed on the ground, slowly rolling around, a trail of blood on the floor where it had smacked. Rey gritted her jaw. She wasn’t about to be intimidated anymore. 

“ _ Rey… _ ” 

She took a step forward, casting the same spell and the boggart hit the bottom of the closet, curling to a wheezing ball.

She walked right up to it, her wand nearly touching the creature on the head. It turned its face up, the two glowing green dots without a face staring at her. 

“ _ Rey.. help..”  _

Rey’s mouth fell open. The creature had never spoken anything else to her. She didn’t have time to back away, when it grabbed her leg and yanked. 

She fell over, the back of her head hitting the floor in a thud that made her bite her tongue. 

“ _ Rey… help me…”  _ the creature crawled over her, dripping blood on her face with how it hovered above her, pinning her down. 

Rey screamed. She actually screamed, without meaning to. 

The creature got yanked off of her, and Rey scrambled back, way back until her shoulders met with a chair. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. 

Professor Solo was on the ground, actually, physically wrestling down the boggart. It was no longer the hooded figure from Rey’s nightmare but a large, wrinkly man with a scarred face and his laughter boomed through the classroom like a thunderstorm. 

“Shut. The fuck. Up.” professor Solo punched the creature in the face, several times, like he was in a crazed state. 

“ _ My boy.. _ ” 

A flash of green flooded the room. 

The creature Professor Solo was straddling fell limp to the ground and vanished right in front of her eyes. 

The professor himself now sat on the floor, panting, head hung between his shoulders. Rey could see them heaving with how heavily he was breathing. 

“Professor…?” she attempted softly. “Professor Solo?” 

The man flinched, his head jerking to Rey’s direction. He looked at her up and down, like he was assessing if she was alright. Rey could see his throat bob in a swallow, before he drew in one final long breath and seemed to relax. His eyes dropped, and he ran a hand through his hair. 

Rey breathed through her nose, slowly, her eyes not leaving the professor. He wasn’t looking at her anymore. Instead he was looking at his hands. Rey noticed his knuckles were bleeding. 

“Professor..” she scooted a little closer, but he flinched away from her like she was dangerous. 

“Niima, you should go now.” 

“Professor did you kill that thing?” 

“Boggarts can’t die. So no.” 

“But that was the curse. I know it was.” 

The killing curse. Caused immediate, painless death without injury or mark. Upon cast, it produced a poisonous green light. Expect professor Solo hadn’t used his wand and he’d not uttered the incantation. The idea alone made Rey’s skin prickle. 

“Niima just- just go. Please.” He sounded defeated and tired.

“No.” 

His head turned to her. Rey crawled the rest of the distance as fast as she could, sitting on her knees in front of the professor. “You got hurt.” 

“It’s my own fault. You don’t need to worry about that.” 

“No”, Rey shook her head, realising how bold the move she was about to make truly was. “But I want to.” 

His eyes flicked up to hers, looking taken back, but he didn’t tell her to go away anymore. He didn’t even flinch when she reached for his bleeding hand and carefully went over the cuts. 

Rey did not look at him when she was casting a cleaning spell on his knuckles, but she could feel his eyes burning her head. 

“I’m not much of a healer, but this is the least I can do.” she murmured once the cuts were clean of blood and dirt. 

“I told you it’s fine.” 

Rey dared to look at him then. Professor Solo looked back to normal, if a bit flustered. His hair had fallen out of place, his bangs scattered all over his forehead, ears peeking out even more than what they normally did.

“Thank you.” Rey whispered, a coy smile rising on her cheeks. 

The professor chuckled under his breath, his voice equally quiet. 

“For what?”

“For pulling that thing off me.. I don’t know what I would have done.” 

“I’m not going to let you get assaulted in the middle of a classroom for a lesson, Niima. Actually ever, for that matter.” 

A heat rose upon her face. Maybe that was a normal thing to assume, but to say it out loud to someone was different. He seemed to realise the same thing, as he turned his eyes to the side the following second. 

Rey could feel her magic buzzing. She could feel it whirl around herself with the growing silence. She could feel it wrapping around Professor Solo’s hand where she was still holding his fingers, and the strangest thing was, she swore she could feel him as well. His magic, roiling like it was somehow on the same frequency as hers - like it was the same. It felt good. Right, with how they twisted together like hands meeting in a mirror. 

Rey could feel her heart beat elevating. She was looking at professor Solo directly now, not remembering to shy away with how amazed she was by the feeling coursing through the air between them. He seemed to think the same because he was staring back, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. Rey knew he felt it too. 

“What are you..” his brows scrunched up a little, his eyes dropping to the hand she was clenching. “How did you do that?” 

Rey panned down, to the spot he was staring at, at his hand, now completely healed. It had no scar tissue, nothing that indicated that there’d ever been a huge bruise there to begin with. 

Her hand flinched off of him. “Did I just do that?” 

“I think you did, but I don’t-” The professor was back to staring at her face “I’ve never felt anything like that.” 

Rey could still feel the buzzing, it was toned down, like it had drawn to the back of her mind, but it was there. It was definitely there still. 

“What was that?” 

The professor shook his head. “I don’t know.” 

He pushed up on his feet, and a second later Rey realised he was holding out his hand to pull her up as well. She took it, allowing the touch to linger a moment longer than necessary. 

“Thank you.” 

“You may go now..” Professor Solo seemed to be inside his mind, only half present anymore, like he was thinking really hard. 

“Yes.. um.. professor-” Rey grabbed her cardigan, squeezing it to her stomach. “Is this.. I think we should keep that  _ thing  _ between us.. if that’s okay with you?” 

He looked at her for a moment in silence, before nodding again. 

“Yes, I agree. For now it’s probably better that whatever that was, it stays within these walls..” he rubbed his neck. “And also Miss Niima.. I’m not technically supposed to use my… personal expertise on school grounds..” 

“Professor Solo, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rey put on her best poker face. “I haven’t seen anything. To my knowledge boggarts can disappear on their own.” 

She didn’t miss the way the professor’s lips quirked in a smirk. 

“That is true. Goodnight Miss Niima.” 

“Goodnight professor Solo.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and first off sorry this took a thousand years xP I had to rewrite it twice because I couldn't decide how I wanted to do this reunion thing, I had it first written in one whole chapter but then I realised I needed to introduce the dyad before the second half because it just makes more sense that way :) You'll be seeing the second half of the reunion in the next chapter ;)
> 
> Secondly I was doing research cuz it's been a long while since I read the HP series, and lets just all agree that you can physically touch a boggart cuz I didn't get a clear answer to that :D Also I found out by accident that Oliver Wood started Hogwarts in 1987 and I almost screamed cuz that lines up so perfectly xD 
> 
> Have a great day! ♥


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunion part 2.

**1980**

  
  
  


Rey nearly ran to her dorm after what happened with the boggart. She ignored everyone who came to her path, including Finn who waved a hand at her. She felt a little bad about it, but she just didn’t have the energy to deal with anyone that time. 

She entered the Hufflepuff dormitory and just about dove to her bed, pulling the drapes shut. The room was filled with a clatter of people talking, but Rey shut that all out when she dug the book the professor gave her from inside the pillowcase. 

She hadn’t touched it since, but after today she felt like she had to know more about who professor Solo actually was and one way to do that was to read through his studies. 

“Rey, aren’t you gonna come and eat with us?” the voice belonged to Rose, and she pulled the drapes around her bed aside, before Rey could answer. She smacked the cover of the forbidden book to her stomach and looked up at her friend’s questioning face. 

“Sorry.. I uh- I’m not hungry.” 

Rose’s brows went up to her hairline. “You? Are not hungry?”

Rey knew she should have come up with a better lie. 

“Well.. Alright. Just give me a second.” she budged. She wouldn’t be able to sleep with an empty stomach. The book could wait until nightfall. Rose didn’t budge from where she was standing, and they had a momentary staring contest, where she waited and Rey didn’t dare to move, the book clutched to her stomach. 

“Well?” Rose asked. 

“Yea.” Rey said, still waiting for Rose to leave. 

“What book is that?” 

“It’s.. nothing.” Rey shrugged and tossed it on the bed, cover down, the spine facing away from Rose. “Let’s go.” she bounced up, and pulled the drapes shut around her bed and she hooked an arm with her friend. 

The book could wait a while longer. 

  
  


When Rey and Rose returned, Rey went straight to her bed, and to her relief the book was where she left it. 

She quickly tucked it under the covers and returned to spend more time with Rose. She really had been too distracted and ignored her friends - She didn’t want to lose them. 

It was also a good way to stay awake. 

Once the lights were out and the dorm quieted down, Rey closed her drapes and took the book that had been on her mind all this time to her lap, casting a small light with her wand to see the text. 

Rey flipped open the first pages of the book. It felt heavier in her hands than it looked. It was quite a small book actually, maybe around 200 pages, but perhaps it felt heavier because she knew what it was about. 

  
  


_ Friday, January 4th 1976 _

_ Today I tried the Cruciatus curse for the first time.  _

_ I wonder if the lack of response in the convict has more to do with me or the constant presence of dementors here in Azkaban - if the people here have become numb to simple things like pain and suffering.  _

_ I feel no different. Truth be told I’m not too excited about this experiment. The Imperius curse at least still has some resemblance of humanity in it, this does not. I imagine that once I perfect the use of the Cruciatus curse, as I have the Imperius curse, I’ll start feeling it in my veins. Coursing through me as I live and breathe.  _

_ From what I know, to work the Cruciatus curse needs real want to harm. Maybe that is my problem.  _

_ I’ll try again tomorrow.  _

_ The dementors are getting to me. I should probably take some time off the island, before I become numb like the people imprisoned here.  _

_ Or I might as well get used to it - no doubt I’ll be cast here after I’m done. How ironic.  _

  
  


Rey was caught off guard by the diary-like writing. Not just diary-like, it was exactly that. Pages upon pages of professor Solo’s thoughts and notes from his time spent on the Azkaban prison island, experimenting on the convicts. 

Rey’s stomach was cold, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the page. She’d known his work had been unethical to a degree, but this was much worse than she’d ever imagined. Rey wasn’t sure what she’d pictured, but torturing people for research wasn’t it. Although, when she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with any other way he could have gotten to the level of expertise he had. 

She flipped through the pages, not reading them all, but eyeballing whatever she caught. She stopped on what she thought was a blank page, but it wasn’t. In the very middle, were a few words. 

  
  


_ Monday, February 2nd 1976 _

_ It worked. I hate myself.  _

  
  


Rey slammed the book shut, like it had burned her, and stuffed it back under her pillow. 

  
  
  
  


**1987**

  
  
  


Rey switched out of her teaching robes at the end of the day, putting on a casual beige sweater and leggings as well as the boots she’d had on earlier. She had dinner in the great hall, but once again saw no sign of Ben solo. She was really starting to get frustrated. She hoped they could be adults about the situation, talk it through, but apparently that wasn’t happening if she didn’t take matters into her own hands. That’s why after dinner she took a heading to the one room she remembered the best. 

Rey gathered all her courage to knock on the D.A.D.A. classroom’s door. For a moment there was no answer, so she simply pushed it open and entered. She was a professor now, she didn’t need anyone’s permission to enter a classroom. 

It was empty. She walked to the middle of it, spinning slowly around and taking in all the changes that had happened in the past seven years. There weren’t too many. The desks were positioned the same way, the dragon skeleton hung from the ceiling, the bookshelves she’d stacked were still against the wall. It was all awfully familiar. 

The lights above her head flicked to life, filling the room with a warm glow. 

“Who let you-” The question cut off when Rey turned. Professor Solo stood by the door, looking like he might actually just turn and leave. “Evening, Mi- Professor Niima. I didn’t realise it was you.” 

“Sorry to barge in, I just came to check on you. It looked like you took quite the hit earlier.” Rey crossed her arms over her chest and attempted to smile, but her cheeks were frozen in place. 

“I’m alright, thank you. Is Miss Davis okay?” He eventually closed the door and swept across the room like he was in a hurry. 

“She’ll be fine. Madame Kanata set her ankle in place, she’ll be good as new by tomorrow.” 

“That’s good to hear. Those brooms really need to be replaced, this happened a couple times last year as well. We’re sending first years up on death traps..” He wasn’t looking at Rey, just packing a pile of books to his table.

His attempt to avoid her was clear, which was why she was there in the first place. If he’d said hello, met her like a normal person might have on the first day, like everyone else, then maybe she wouldn’t have been as compelled to invade his space. Today on the courtyard he hadn’t said a word to her, despite being right there. Truthfully neither had she, but Rey was willing to look past it. She noticed he had a bruise on his forehead, a red and blue bump, and some bandaids on his fingers. 

“So you did get hurt.” 

“I’ll be fine.” He shook his head, long tendrils of hair falling on either side of his face. Rey’d never seen his hair so long. It looked good. Different. She wondered why he’d decided to grow it past his ears, perhaps for that exact reason - because of his ears. He’d always been self-conscious about them. 

“Can I?” she walked closer, stopping when she could put her hands on his desk. 

His eyes flinched up, meeting hers. He looked wary, almost scared of her. 

“It’s not necessary.” 

“Ben.” 

His breath hitched upon hearing his name, thick lips drawing to a tight line. 

“Please? It’s sort of my fault you got hit in the first place.” Rey didn’t allow him to disconnect eye contact. For a moment he just breathed slowly, before offering the faintest of nods. 

He sat on his chair, and Rey crossed to the other side, coming to stand between his knees. 

“How have you been?” she asked, inspecting the bruise on his forehead with light touches. He hissed when she accidentally pressed a bit too hard. “Sorry..” 

“Hmm.. fine I guess. Not much has happened.” 

“You grew your hair out.” 

“Kids were making fun of my ears.” Even he smirked a little at that. Rey chuckled to herself, having already guessed the answer. 

“How about you?” his dark eyes opened, darting upwards to look at her. Rey’s fingers still rested on his cheek, but he didn’t shake her off. 

“Well.. I lost a leg.” 

“I know, I was at that game.” 

“You were?” 

“I go to every Ballycastle Bats game.” 

Rey laughed, she should have remembered. 

“Let’s just say that wasn’t my favourite game of theirs.” 

“Funny, I didn’t think so either.” 

The silence lingered. Rey cleared her throat, and pressed her palm over the bruise and closed her eyes. She could feel her magic flowing, surging through her veins like a living, breathing entity and crossing to him, mixing with the magic in him that matched hers. It wasn’t quite magical healing. Rey didn’t know if there was a word for it - it felt like she was transferring a bit of her life to him, rather than healing. It didn’t feel bad though, it felt right. Good, like it wasn’t doing her any harm. She’d attempted it on an injured teammate once, but it hadn’t worked. 

When she opened her eyes and lifted her hand a moment later the bruise was gone. His eyes were closed still, head relaxed against her touch. She took the opportunity to really look at him. Now it was clear that he had aged, but it wasn’t that he looked old. The rounds of his eyes had gotten more wrinkles, his jawline not sharp as a knife like it had been seven years ago. It didn’t make him look worse, just softer. Kinder, if that was possible. He looked less like a boy and a lot more like a man, than he had back then. 

His eyes opened slowly, locked to her face. It had gotten quiet, the air so thick you could have cut it with a blade. There was no urgent need to move or get away. Rey could feel the familiar buzz of magic, one that hadn’t been there for seven whole years. A connection. The one that told her she was home. 

Rey’s eyes panned down, to where his bandaged fingers curled over his thighs. She reached down to take one in hand and undid the small wraps. The bruises were gone, healed completely. 

“I still don’t understand this.” She mumbled, but shut her lips when the professor’s fingers curled around hers. 

“Rey.” 

When her gaze panned down, he was still looking at her, mouth parted, brown eyes deep and sad. He seemed unsure, tethering on the edge of something, scared to take the final step. Whatever he was going to say, he didn’t, because the next second he got up and created distance between them.

“Welcome back.” His voice was hardly a murmur, but Rey heard him. 

“Oh.. thanks.” Rey felt the moment ending, stepping away from the desk. It was better if she just left now. 

“And thanks for the.. for my forehead.” Professor Solo was not looking at her, hands tucked to his front pockets like he did when he was feeling nervous. That hadn’t changed. His hands would shake, which was why he kept them hidden away from sight.

“It’s no big deal.” Rey shrugged, because it wasn’t. It didn’t drain her magic, if anything she felt more powerful. More connected. She walked to the door at a brisk pace, feeling like that was the last thing she was supposed to be doing. 

The professor stayed behind, and Rey had made it halfway down the hall when she stopped to look over her shoulder. She could still see the classroom door. 

She turned around, walking much more slower now, but with much more determination than when leaving. 

She turned the handle, and pushed in, the classroom now dark, all lights turned back off. 

Professor Solo sat at his desk, head pressed against the wooden surface, arms crowding him from all directions. Still it couldn’t hide the fact that his shoulders were shaking. He must have already realised it was her, once she opened the door, because there was no reaction in any direction. 

Rey walked across the space, until she was standing right next to the table. 

“Ben..” his name was heavy on her lips. 

It tore her chest, how physical his sadness was to her. She felt it, like it was her own. 

“Why did you have to come back...” his voice was quiet and choked. It didn’t sound like a question, as much as a statement. 

Rey didn’t have an answer anyway. Why did she come back to Hogwarts? To see him earlier? Now? 

She scooted herself on the table and placed her tender fingers on the back of his head, and stroked through his hair, while the dark classroom swallowed them up. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sorry this took forever, and that it's a bit short. However I did promise the end to that reunion thing I started in the previous chapter ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! ♥ I really appreciate kudos and comments, they help tremendously ♥


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